James
V. Forrestal was America's first Secretary of Defense, and chief architect of
the modern US Department of Defense; reliable sources state that Forrestal was
one of the initial members of the newly-formed MJ-12, his position on the committee
being replaced subsequent to his death by General Walter Smith. Forrestal was
an idealistic and religious man who believed that the public should be told
the truth about the UFO problem. When he began to talk to leaders of the opposition
party and leaders of the Congress about the alien problem, he was asked to resign
by President Truman.

He expressed his fears to a number of people, and believed that he was being
watched. This was interpreted by those who were ignorant of the facts as paranoia.
Forrestal later was said to have suffered a mental breakdown and was committed,
apparently against his will, to Bethesda Naval Hospital suffering from "exhaustion",
where he was held under a round the clock Marine guard. Many investigators believe
that it was feared that Forrestal would begin to talk again, and he had to be
isolated and discredited.

At
around 1:45 am on May 22, 1949, some seven weeks after his admission to the hospital,
Forrestal plunged from a 16th floor window of the hospital to his death. A belt
or cord, said to be from his dressing gown, was tied tightly around his neck.
It was also reported that his body was found wrapped in a bedsheet. Allegations
have been made that agents tied a sheet around his neck, fastened the other
end to a fixture in his room, and threw Forrestal out the window; the sheet
tore, and he plummeted to his death.

The Navy's five-month investigation concluded that Forrestal had taken his own
life. The investigation report was then classified and remains so to this day.
Many investigators consider Forrestal to have been one of the earliest victims
of the Great UFO Cover-up which started in earnest after the Roswell crash of
1947.